An 18-year legacy: Coach Dave Crevelt's Woodside High soccer teams went from last place to first An 18-year legacy: Coach Dave Crevelt's Woodside High soccer teams went from last place to first (April 28, 2004)

By Marjorie Mader
Almanac Staff Writer

The "winningest" soccer coach at Woodside High School has decided to walk away after 18 years as a "walk on" coach.

"It's been a long time," says coach Dave Crevelt, as he contemplates the end of an era. His Woodside soccer teams have compiled a winning record of 77 percent since he volunteered to coach in 1986. His teams have gone from last to first place during his time at Woodside.

He has led the Wildcats to eight Central Coast Section playoffs. Both the varsity and the frosh-soph teams this season clinched the league championship in the Pacific Athletic League's Ocean Division.

Coach Crevelt leaves Woodside soccer in good hands -- his former outstanding players are now the coaches: Johan Lyssand, Jon Lyssand and Juan Caballero. "When I coach my players, they want to come back and coach with me," says Mr. Crevelt.

The Crevelt era had its beginnings when the current coach was being coached as a player on Woodside's SPAL championship team in 1976, the year he graduated and was an All-League soccer player.

He talks about how he came back to coach 10 years later. "I was driving down Woodside Road, and I decided I'd like to go back and volunteer at my alma mater."

He had returned home after rebounding from an unsuccessful run for Congress at age 28 for the sprawling district that covered four mountain counties -- Madera, Tuolumne, Calaveras and Mono. Earlier, he had graduated from Fresno State University and went to work negotiating insurance contracts, which he continues to do today.

Mr. Crevelt called Jim Luttrell, then Woodside's athletic director, and within a week he signed on as varsity coach. His brother Johnny became the JV coach. These positions pay a small stipend, but the amount can't begin to cover the time coaches spend from November through February on sign-ups, coaches' meetings, CPR training and three-hour practices Monday through Friday during the season.

"I'm an inclusionary person," says Mr. Crevelt. "When people ask to volunteer, I say come on down." He cites Ed Nolan's volunteering and bringing on Gil Martinez, who brought some Latino players on board. "With a more balanced team," he says, "we experienced the camaraderie of building a championship team, going from last place to first" in the 1989-90 season.

"This year, I am so impressed with the young men's maturity" and their demeanor, he says. Four of the seniors have played on the team since they were freshmen.

Coach Crevelt honored past coaches at a ceremony on the field at the end of the season for helping bring excellence to boys' soccer at Woodside. They are Gil Martinez of Redwood City, Ed Nolan of San Leandro, Robert Byrne of Redwood City, David Prado of Sunnyvale, Sal Bustos of Redwood City, John Crevelt of Menlo Park, Luke Browning of Corpus Christi, Texas, and Ramon Ochoa of Tempe, Arizona.

The coach also recognized past administrators at Woodside: Jim Luttrell, athletic director from 1985 to 1996; Jerry Baker, principal from 1987 to 1996; and administrative vice-principals Mike Ryan, 1990-1999, Denise Plant, 1999-2001, and Mary Jo Fox, 2001-04.

"Dave really cared about Woodside High School and embodied the Woodside spirit," said retired teacher Paul Williams, who knew him as a student, athlete and coach. He described Mr. Crevelt as a mixture of a "task master," expecting his players to practice and earn what they got, and a mentor, helping players develop as athletes and individuals, taking pride in their success.

"I don't think Woodside knows how lucky they are to have him for all these years," says Johan Lyssand, former Woodside player and now a coach.

Sports are part of Dave Crevelt's fabric. His dad got him interested in sports as a young boy, and came to his games. His mom, a prisoner of war in the Philippines as a young girl, kept the scrapbooks. For many years, he announced Woodside's games -- football, basketball and baseball, including varsity and junior varsity games. He was the emcee for the Woodside High Booster Club's annual fashion show.

Last year, Mr. Crevelt reactivated and coached the off-season AYSO team for boys under 19 for Region 1 in Redwood City. He's now coaching the AYSO teams of his son Tyler, 8, and daughter Kaila, 4.

E-mail Marjorie Mader at mmader@AlmanacNews.com

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